The Australian national anthem was played "to honor our Australian players", and then the US anthem was played very nicely by a violinist.
The Ducks used a zone defense from the start and Stanford's defense was as good as it usually is, with the result that the score after one quarter was 15-15.
During the second quarter we were grumbling about certain Stanford players who seemed to be passing up makeable shots or failing to drive when it seemed — from our vantage point 50 feet away and eight rows up from the hardwood — obvious that driving was possible, probably easy. Then we heard the Duck fans behind us complaining the same way about their team: "Why doesn't she SHOOT?!?" Despite our kvetching the Cardinal pulled ahead to end the half at 27-21.
Brittany opened the third quarter with a three and Stanford kept on outscoring the Ducks to end that quarter ahead 13, 49-36, and looked to be on track to a comfortable win.
The Ducks didn't agree with a quiet end to their Senior Day game. Starting the fourth quarter they dropped out of their zone defense and began full-court pressure on every inbound, producing several Stanford turnovers, and creating an 8-0 Duck run that brought the score to 49-44 and forced Tara to call time at 7:02.
The Ducks brought the score within five points several times in the following minutes and even within four, 58-54, with a minute to play. However the Cardinal made their free throws in the final seconds and closed the game out with a win.
Karlie led all scorers with 18 points, on 4-7 three-point shots and 6-6 free throws.
Bird had 16 points (all on field goals) plus 14 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season. She made 61.5% of her shots — the first time she's made more than half since the win at Washington.
Alanna had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double; plus three blocks and a steal.
Bri had nine points including a very timely jumper to relieve the pressure when the Ducks first came within five midway through the fourth quarter.
The victory gave the Cardinal a tie with Washington for second place in the conference and the No. 2 seed in the tournament. They'll play either Colorado or Washington State in the quarterfinals on Friday evening, March 3, at 6:00.
Here are game reports and commentary:
- Stanford Secures No. 2 Seed, the Associated Press game recap (as posted by Stanford Athletics)
- No. 8 Stanford women's basketball fends off Oregon Ducks, the Pac-12 game recap video
- Ducks Rally in Fourth, Fall to No. 8 Stanford, the Oregon Athletics game recap
- Oregon Ducks end regular season with 65-59 loss to No. 8 Stanford Cardinal by Ryan Thorburn, with a gallery of photos by Andy Nelson (Register-Guard)
- WBB:Stanford 65 Oregon 59 from the CARDboard
- Ducks Fall Short, Lose to Stanford 65-59 from Addicted to Quack
A video interview of Bird,
And some of the Register-Guard photos that feature the Cardinal:
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